Introducing Oakland Raiders' Seventh Round Pick, David Bass

By Jonathan Comeaux

Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Raiders drafted a high performer in Division two football with their final pick of the draft in defensive end, David Bass.

Coming out of Missouri Western, Bass was a pass-rushing monster–accumulating 40.5 total sacks. Bass has started every game since admittance as a freshman, going over 10 sacks twice in his college career with 14.5 in 2011 and 11.5 in 2012. He holds the school record for career sacks and tackles-for-loss in a season (20).

Bass owns a plethora of D2 Awards. Too many to mention in-fact, but becoming a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award (best D2 defensive lineman) stands out most of all.

Strengths: Bass has great speed for an end, running a 4.69 forty-yard dash during his Pro Day (4.82 at combine). His 4.33 performance in the 20-yard shuttle ranked him above the likes of Dion Jordan and Barkevious Mingo. He is incredibly lanky, showing he can grab and pull people down.

Tape reveals he has amazing awareness during the pass and read-option attack. He can read blocks effectively and get around his opposition. Once more, on numerous occasions he would jump and swat the ball on passes. At MWSU, Bass intercepted the ball five times, while having 23 passes broken up.

Weaknesses: Playing for a small D2 conference gives an automatic weakness. On tape, it looked like Bass towered over everyone. Standing at 6’4″ is good size, but at the next level it’s almost a norm. Only performing 20 bench reps at the combine indicates he needs to get stronger. With that, it’s a possibility he struggles getting around blocks or even getting people down.

I found little tape of Bass playing against the run other than against spread-option plays. That could mean he struggles against the rushing attack.

Analysis: The potential Bass carries is amazing. He has all the talent to become one of the biggest sleeper picks out the 2013 NFL Draft. With Jason Hunter slated to be a first-string DE for the Raiders, if Bass performs well in training camp and the preseason, he could definitely become a starter in Oakland quickly.

With the possibility of 3-4 hybrid sets becoming a large inclusion in defensive playbook, Bass has the speed and ball instincts to play as an OLB and a pass-rushing LB. He could even play as a 4-3 DE like he did in college, but that would require some bulking up.

One thing is sure with the Raiders; almost every position isn’t set right now–especially on defense. Bass inherits a great opportunity to make a name for himself in Oakland.